Jail for man who claimed he had HIV after spitting in officer’s face

A man has been jailed after he spat in the face of an officer, claiming afterwards that he had HIV.

Officers were called to the branch of Sainsbury’s on Cawdor Way in Matlock just after 5.05pm on Friday 27 January following reports of a man failing to pay for several items earlier in the day. When officers arrived, they found Raymond Skelly attempting to leave the store with more items.

Skelly was arrested on suspicion of theft and attempted theft but when he was placed in the back of a patrol car, he became angry, shouting in Sergeant Blaine Molloy’s face, growling at him, and spat in his face.

Appearing at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on Monday 30 January, the 44-year-old of Greenbank, Hadfield in Glossop, pleaded guilty to Assault by beating of an emergency worker, theft from a shop and going equipped for theft. He was jailed for six months.

Speaking after the sentence was handed down, Sergeant Molloy said: “Any and all assaults on duty are completely unacceptable, but sadly something police officers have to deal with on a daily basis across Derbyshire.

“As a result of Skelly, purposely and maliciously spitting in my face during his arrest, and his subsequent verbal threats relating to disease transmission I will have to undertake blood tests over the following months to determine whether my long-term health has been affected. This will obviously be a stressful time for myself and my family and will be a worry to me until I eventually get the all clear.

“This result re-enforces that, as a force we will not tolerate assaults on any of our members of staff and will seek to prosecute any offender who commits this type of crime.  I welcome the robustness of Skelly's sentence and can only hope it goes some way to making others thinks twice before acting in the same manner.”